August 20, 2025 • 21 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Book twenty. Ulysses slept in the cloister upon an undressed
bullock's hide, on the top of which he threw several
skins of the sheep the suitors had eaten, and Uriname
threw a cloak over him. After he had laid himself
down there. Then Ulysses lay wakefully, brooding upon the way
(00:20):
in which he should kill the suitors, And by and
by the women who had been in the habit of
misconducting themselves with them, left the house, giggling and laughing
with one another. This made Ulysses very angry, and he
doubted whether to get up and kill every single one
of them then and there, or to let them sleep
one more and last time. With the suitors. His heart
(00:43):
growled within him, And as a bitch with puppies growls
and shows her teeth when she sees a stranger, so
did his heart growl with anger at the evil deeds
that were being done. But he beat his breast and said, heart,
be still, you had worse than the to bear on
the day when the terrible cyclops ate your brave companions.
(01:04):
Yet you bore it in silence till your cunning got
you safe out of the cave, though you made sure
of being killed. Thus he chided with his heart and
checked it into endurance. But he tossed about as one
who turns a paunch full of blood and fat in
front of a hot fire, doing it first on one
side and then on the other, that he may get
(01:24):
it cooked as soon as possible. Even so did he
turn himself about from side to side, thinking all the
time how single handed as he was, he should contrive
to kill so large a body of men as the
wicked suitors. But by and by Minerva came down from
heaven in the likeness of a woman, and hovered over
his head, saying, my poor, unhappy man, why do you
(01:48):
lie awake in this way? This is your house. Your
wife is safe inside it, and so is your son,
who is just such a young man as any father
may be proud of God. This answered, Ulysses. All that
you have said is true. But I am in some
doubt as to how I shall be able to kill
these wicked suitors single handed, seeing what a number of
(02:11):
them there always are. And there is this further difficulty
which is still more considerable. Supposing that with joves and
your assistance, I succeed in killing them, I must ask
you to consider where I am to escape to from
their avengers when it is all over. For shame, replied Minerva.
(02:32):
Why any one else would trust a worse ally than myself,
even though that ally were only immortal and less wise
than I am? Am? I not a goddess, and have
I not protected you throughout in all your troubles? I
tell you plainly that even though there were fifty bands
of men surrounding us and eager to kill us, you
should take all their sheep and cattle and drive them
(02:55):
away with you. But go to sleep. It is a
very bad thing to lie awake all night, and you
shall be out of your troubles Before long as she spoke,
she shed sleep over his eyes, and then went back
to Olympus. While Ulysses was thus yielding himself to a
very deep slumber that eased the burden of his sorrows,
(03:16):
his admirable wife awoke, and, sitting up in her bed,
began to cry. When she had relieved herself by weeping,
she prayed to Diana, saying, Great Goddess Diana, daughter of Jove,
drive an arrow into my heart and slay me, or
let some whirlwind snatch me up and bear me through
paths of darkness till it dropped me into the mouths
(03:38):
of overflowing oceanus as it did the daughters of Pandareus.
The daughters of Pandaraus lost their father and mother, for
the gods killed them, so they were left orphans. But
Venus took care of them and fed them on cheese, honey,
and sweet wine. Juno taught them to excel all women
in beauty of form and understanding. Diana gave them an
(04:01):
imposing presence, and Minerva endowed them with every kind of accomplishment.
But one day, when Venus had gone up to Olympus
to see Jove about getting them married for a well,
does he know both what shall happen and what not?
Happened to every one? The storm winds came and spirited
them away to become handmaids to the dread Erineas. Even so,
(04:24):
I wish that the gods who live in heaven would
hide me from mortal sight, or that fair Diana might
strike me, for I would fain go even beneath the
sad earth, if I might do so, still looking towards
Ulysses only, and without having to yield myself to a
worse man than he was. Besides, no matter how much
people may grieve by day, they can put up with
(04:45):
it so long as they can sleep at night. For
when the eyes are closed in slumber, people forget good
and ill alike. Whereas my misery haunts me even in
my dreams. This very night, methought, there was one lying
by my side who was lef Ulysses, as he was
when he went away with his host. And I rejoiced,
for I believed that it was no dream, but the
(05:07):
very truth itself. On this day broke But Ulysses heard
the sound of her weeping, and it puzzled him, for
it seemed as though she already knew him and was
by his side. Then he gathered up the cloak and
the fleeces on which he had lain, and set them
on a seat in the cloister. But he took the
bullocks hide out into the open. He lifted up his
(05:30):
hands to heaven and prayed, saying, Father Jove, since you
have seen fit to bring me over land and sea
to my own home, after all the afflictions you have
laid upon me, give me a sign out of the
mouth of some one or other of those who are
now waking within the house, and let me have another
sign of some kind from outside. Thus did he pray.
(05:53):
Jove heard his prayer, and forthwith thundered high up among
the clouds from the splendor of Olympus, and was glad
when he heard it. At the same time, within the house,
a miller woman from hard By in the mill room
lifted up her voice and gave him another sign. There
were twelve miller women whose business it was to grind
(06:13):
wheat and barley, which are the staff of life. The
others had ground their task and had gone to take
their rest, But this one had not yet finished, for
she was not so strong as they were, And when
she heard the thunder, she stopped grinding and gave the
sign to her master. Father. Jove said, she, you who
rule over heaven and earth, You have thundered from a
(06:35):
clear sky without so much as a cloud in it,
and this means something for somebody. Grant the prayer then
of me, your poor servant, who calls upon you, and
let this be the very last day that the suitors
dine in the house of Ulysses. They have worn me
out with the labor of grinding meal for them, and
I hope they may never have another dinner anywhere at all.
(06:58):
Ulysses was glad when he heard the omens conveyed to
him by the woman's speech and by the thunder, for
he knew they meant that he should avenge himself on
the suitors. Then the other maids in the house rose
and lit the fire on the hearth. Telemachus also rose
and put on his clothes. He girded his sword about
his shoulder, bound his sandals on his comely feet, and
(07:21):
took a doughty spear with a point of sharpened bronze.
Then he went to the threshold of the cloister and
said to Euryclea, nurse, did you make the stranger comfortable
both as regards bed and board, or did you let
him shift for himself? For my mother, good woman, though
she is, has a way of paying great attention to
second rate people, and of neglecting others who are in
(07:45):
reality much better. Men do not find fault, child, said Euryclea,
When there is no one to find fault with. The
stranger sat and drank his wine as long as he liked.
Your mother did ask him if he would take any
more bread. He said he would not when he wanted
to go to bed. She told the servants to make
one for him, But he said he was such a
(08:07):
wretched outcast that he would not sleep on a bed
and under blankets. He insisted on having an undressed bullock's
hide and some sheepskins put for him in the cloister,
And I threw a cloak over him myself. Then Telemachus
went out of the court to the place where the
Achaeans were meeting in assembly. He had his spear in
(08:27):
his hand, and he was not alone, for his two
dogs went with him. But Euryclea called the maids and said,
come wake up. Set about sweeping the cloisters and sprinkling
them with water, to lay the dust, put the covers
on the seats, wipe down the tables. Some of you
with a wet sponge, clean out the mixing jugs and
the cups, and go for water from the fountain. At once.
(08:48):
The suitors will be here directly. They will be here early,
for it is a feast day. Thus did she speak,
and they did even as she had said. Twenty of
them went to the fountain for water, and the others
set themselves busily to work about the house. The men
who were in attendance on the suitors also came up
and began chopping firewood. By and by the women returned
(09:11):
from the fountain, and the swineherd came after them with
the three best pigs he could pick out. These he
let feed about the premises. And then he said, good
humoredly to Ulysses, stranger, are the suitors treating you any
better now? Or are they as insolent as ever? May heaven?
Answered Ulysses, requite to them the wickedness with which they
(09:35):
deal high handedly in another man's house without any sense
of shame. Thus did they converse. Meanwhile, Melanthius the goatherd
came up, for he too was bringing in his best
goats for the suitors dinner, and he had two shepherds
with him. They tied the goats up under the gatehouse,
and then Melanthias began jibing at Ulysses. Are you still here, stranger?
(10:00):
Said he to pester people by begging about the house.
Why can you not go elsewhere? You and I shall
not come to an understanding before we have given each
other a taste of our fists. You beg without any
sense of decency. Are there not feasts elsewhere among the
Achaeans as well as here? Ulysses made no answer, but
(10:20):
bowed his head and brooded. Then a third man, Filoecious,
joined them, who was bringing in a baron heifer and
some goats. These were brought over by the boatmen, who
are there to take people over when anyone comes to them.
So Filoecious made his heifer and his goats secure under
the gatehouse, and then went up to the swineherd, who
(10:41):
swineherd said, he is this stranger that is lately come here?
Is he one of your men? What is his family?
Where does he come from? Poor fellow? He looks as
if he had been some great man. But the gods
give sorrow to whom they will, even to kings, if
it so pleases them. As he spoke, he went up
to Ulysses and saluted him with his right hand. Good
(11:02):
day to you, father, stranger, said he. You seem to
be very poorly off now, but I hope you will
have better times by and by Father Jove of all gods,
you are the most malicious. We are your own children,
Yet you show us no mercy in all our misery
and afflictions. A sweat came over me when I saw
this man, and my eyes filled with tears, for he
(11:24):
reminds me of Ulysses, who I fear is going about
in just such rags as this man's are, if indeed
he is still among the living, if he is already
dead and in the house of Hades, then alas for
my good master, who made me his stockmen when I
was quite young among the Cephalenians, and now his cattle
(11:45):
are countless, no one could have done better with them
than I have, for they have bread like ears of corn. Nevertheless,
I have to keep bringing them in for others to eat,
who take no heed to his son, though he is
in the house, and fear you are not the wrath
of Heaven, but are already eager to divide ulysses property
among them. Because he has been away so long. I
(12:08):
have often thought only it would not be right while
his son is living, of going off with the cattle
to some foreign country. Bad as this would be, it
is still harder to stay here and be ill treated
about other people's herds. My position is intolerable, and I
should long since have run away and put myself under
the protection of some other chief, only that I believe
(12:30):
my poor master will yet return and send all these
suitors flying out of the house. Stockman answered, Ulysses, you
seem to be a very well disposed person, and I
can see that you are a man of sense. Therefore
I will tell you and will confirm my words with
an oath by Jove, the chief of all gods, and
(12:51):
by that hearth of Ulysses, to which I am now come.
Ulysses shall return before you leave this place, and if
you are so minded you shall I'll see him killing
the suitors who are now masters here. If Jove were
to bring this to pass, replied the stockman, you should
see how I would do my very utmost to help him.
(13:13):
And in like manner, Eumaeus prayed that Ulysses might return home.
Thus did they converse. Meanwhile, the suitors were hatching a
plot to murder Telemachus. But a bird flew near them
on their left hand, an eagle with a dove in
its talons. On this, Amphinomus said, my friends, this plot
(13:34):
of ours to murder Telemachus will not succeed. Let us
go to dinner instead. The others assented, so they went
inside and laid their cloaks on the benches and seats.
They sacrificed the sheep, goats, pigs, and the heifer, And
when the inward meats were cooked, they served them round.
They mixed the wine in the mixing bowls, and the
(13:55):
swineherd gave every man his cup, while Filoetius handed round
the bread in the bread basket, and Melanthius poured them
out their wine. Then they laid their hands upon the
good things that were before them. Telemachus purposely made Ulysses
sit in the part of the cloister that was paved
with stone. He gave him a shabby looking seat at
(14:15):
a little table to himself, and had his portion of
the inward meats brought to him, with his wine in
a gold cup. Sit there, said he, and drink your
wine among the great people. I will put a stop
to the gibes and blows of the suitors, for this
is no public house, but belongs to Ulysses, and has
passed from him to me. Therefore, suitors, keep your hands
(14:37):
and your tongues to yourselves, or there will be mischief.
The suitors bit their lips and marveled at the boldness
of his speech. Then Antynus said, we do not like
such language, but we will put up with it, for
Telemachus is threatening us in good earnest. If Jove had
let us, we should have put a stop to his
brave talk air. Now, thus spoke Antinas, but Telemachus heeded
(15:01):
him not. Meanwhile, the heralds were bringing the Holy hecatomb
through the city, and the Achaeans gathered under the shady
grove of Apollo. Then they roasted the outer meat, drew
it off the spits, gave every man his portion, and
feasted to their hearts content. Those who waited at table
(15:21):
gave Ulysses exactly the same portion as the others had,
for Telemachus had told them to do so. But Minerva
would not let the suitors for one moment drop their insolence,
for she wanted Ulysses to become still more bitter against them.
Now there happened to be among them a ribald fellow,
whose name was Ktisippus, and who came from Samme. This man,
(15:44):
confident in his great wealth, was paying court to the
wife of Ulysses, and said to the suitors, hear what
I have to say. The stranger has already had as
large a portion as any one else. This is well,
for it is not right nor reasonable to ill treat
any guest of Telemachus who comes here. I will, however,
make him a present on my own account, that he
(16:05):
may have something to give to the bath woman or
to some other of ulysses servants. As he spoke, he
picked up a heifer's foot from the meat basket in
which it lay, and threw it at Ulysses. But Ulysses
turned his head a little aside and avoided it, smiling
grimly Sardinian fashion as he did so, and it hit
the wall, not him. On this Telemachus spoke fiercely to Tisippus.
(16:31):
It is a good thing for you, said he, that
the stranger turned his head so that you missed him.
If you had hit him, I should have run you
through with my spear, and your father would have had
to see about getting you buried rather than married in
this house. So let me have no more unseemly behavior
from any of you, for I am grown up now
to the knowledge of good and evil and understand what
(16:53):
is going on, instead of being the child that I
have been heretofore, I have long seen you killing my
sheep and making free with my corn and wine. I
have put up with this, for one man is no
match for many. But do me no further violence. Still,
if you wish to kill me, kill me. I would
far rather die than see such disgraceful scenes. Day after day,
(17:15):
guests insulted, and men dragging the women servants about the
house in an unseemly way. They all held their peace
till at last Agilaus, son of Damastor, said, no one
should take offense at what has just been said, nor
gainsay it, for it is quite reasonable. Leave off therefore,
(17:36):
ill treating the stranger or any one else of the
servants who are about the house. I would say, however,
a friendly word to Telemachus and his mother, which I
trust may commend itself to both as long, I would say,
as you had ground for hoping that Ulysses would one
day come home, no one could complain of your waiting
and suffering the suitors to be in your house. It
(17:59):
would have been her that he should have returned, but
it is now sufficiently clear that he will never do. So. Therefore,
talk all this quietly over with your mother, and tell
her to marry the best man and the one who
makes her the most advantageous offer. Thus, you will yourself
be able to manage your own inheritance and to eat
and drink in peace, while your mother will look after
(18:21):
some other man's house, not yours. To this, Telemachus answered,
by jove Agilaus, and by the sorrows of my unhappy father,
who has either perished far from Ithaca or is wandering
in some distant land, I throw no obstacles in the
way of my mother's marriage. On the contrary, I urge
(18:41):
her to choose whomsoever she will, and I will give
her numberless gifts into the bargain. But I dare not
insist point blank that she shall leave the house against
her own wishes. Heaven forbid that I should do this.
Minerva now made the suitors fall to laughing immoderately, and
set their wits oneering. But they were laughing with a
(19:01):
forced laughter. Their meat became smeared with blood, their eyes
filled with tears, and their hearts were heavy with forebodings.
Theo Clemenus saw this and said, unhappy men, what is
it that ails you? There is a shroud of darkness
drawn over you from head to foot. Your cheeks are
wet with tears. The air is alive with wailing voices.
(19:24):
The walls and roof beams drip blood. The gait of
the cloisters, and the court beyond them are full of
ghosts trooping down into the night of hell. The sun
is blotted out of heaven, and a blighting gloom is
over all the land. Thus did he speak, and they
all of them laughed heartily. Eurymachus then said, this stranger
(19:46):
who has lately come here has lost his senses. Servants
turn him out into the streets, since he finds it
so dark here. But theo Clemenus said, Eurymachus, you need
not send any one with me. I have eyes, ears,
and a pair of feet of my own, to say
nothing of an understanding mind. I will take these out
(20:06):
of the house with me, for I see mischief overhanging you,
from which not one of you men who are insulting
people and plotting ill deeds in the house of Ulysses,
will be able to escape. He left the house as
he spoke, and went back to Pereeus, who gave him welcome.
But the suitors kept looking at one another and provoking
Telemachus by laughing at the strangers. One insolent fellow said
(20:29):
to him, Telemachus, you are not happy in your guests.
First you have this importunate tramp who comes begging bread
and wine, and has no skill for work or for
hard fighting, but is perfectly useless. And now here is
another fellow who is setting himself up as a prophet.
Let me persuade you, for it will be much better
to put them on board ship and send them off
(20:50):
to the sea cells to sell for what they will bring.
Telemachus gave him no heed, but sat silently watching his father,
expecting every moment that he would begin his attack upon
the suitors. Meanwhile, the daughter of Ecarius, Wise Penelope, had
had a rich seat placed for her, facing the court
(21:11):
and cloisters, so that she could hear what every one
was saying. The dinner, indeed, had been prepared amid much merriment.
It had been both good and abundant, for they had
sacrificed many victims. But the supper was yet to come.
And nothing can be conceived more gruesome than the meal
which a goddess and a brave man were soon to
lay before them, For they had brought their doom upon themselves.
(21:38):
End of book twenty
Book twenty. Ulysses slept in the cloister upon an undressed
bullock's hide, on the top of which he threw several
skins of the sheep the suitors had eaten, and Uriname
threw a cloak over him. After he had laid himself
down there. Then Ulysses lay wakefully, brooding upon the way
(00:20):
in which he should kill the suitors, And by and
by the women who had been in the habit of
misconducting themselves with them, left the house, giggling and laughing
with one another. This made Ulysses very angry, and he
doubted whether to get up and kill every single one
of them then and there, or to let them sleep
one more and last time. With the suitors. His heart
(00:43):
growled within him, And as a bitch with puppies growls
and shows her teeth when she sees a stranger, so
did his heart growl with anger at the evil deeds
that were being done. But he beat his breast and said, heart,
be still, you had worse than the to bear on
the day when the terrible cyclops ate your brave companions.
(01:04):
Yet you bore it in silence till your cunning got
you safe out of the cave, though you made sure
of being killed. Thus he chided with his heart and
checked it into endurance. But he tossed about as one
who turns a paunch full of blood and fat in
front of a hot fire, doing it first on one
side and then on the other, that he may get
(01:24):
it cooked as soon as possible. Even so did he
turn himself about from side to side, thinking all the
time how single handed as he was, he should contrive
to kill so large a body of men as the
wicked suitors. But by and by Minerva came down from
heaven in the likeness of a woman, and hovered over
his head, saying, my poor, unhappy man, why do you
(01:48):
lie awake in this way? This is your house. Your
wife is safe inside it, and so is your son,
who is just such a young man as any father
may be proud of God. This answered, Ulysses. All that
you have said is true. But I am in some
doubt as to how I shall be able to kill
these wicked suitors single handed, seeing what a number of
(02:11):
them there always are. And there is this further difficulty
which is still more considerable. Supposing that with joves and
your assistance, I succeed in killing them, I must ask
you to consider where I am to escape to from
their avengers when it is all over. For shame, replied Minerva.
(02:32):
Why any one else would trust a worse ally than myself,
even though that ally were only immortal and less wise
than I am? Am? I not a goddess, and have
I not protected you throughout in all your troubles? I
tell you plainly that even though there were fifty bands
of men surrounding us and eager to kill us, you
should take all their sheep and cattle and drive them
(02:55):
away with you. But go to sleep. It is a
very bad thing to lie awake all night, and you
shall be out of your troubles Before long as she spoke,
she shed sleep over his eyes, and then went back
to Olympus. While Ulysses was thus yielding himself to a
very deep slumber that eased the burden of his sorrows,
(03:16):
his admirable wife awoke, and, sitting up in her bed,
began to cry. When she had relieved herself by weeping,
she prayed to Diana, saying, Great Goddess Diana, daughter of Jove,
drive an arrow into my heart and slay me, or
let some whirlwind snatch me up and bear me through
paths of darkness till it dropped me into the mouths
(03:38):
of overflowing oceanus as it did the daughters of Pandareus.
The daughters of Pandaraus lost their father and mother, for
the gods killed them, so they were left orphans. But
Venus took care of them and fed them on cheese, honey,
and sweet wine. Juno taught them to excel all women
in beauty of form and understanding. Diana gave them an
(04:01):
imposing presence, and Minerva endowed them with every kind of accomplishment.
But one day, when Venus had gone up to Olympus
to see Jove about getting them married for a well,
does he know both what shall happen and what not?
Happened to every one? The storm winds came and spirited
them away to become handmaids to the dread Erineas. Even so,
(04:24):
I wish that the gods who live in heaven would
hide me from mortal sight, or that fair Diana might
strike me, for I would fain go even beneath the
sad earth, if I might do so, still looking towards
Ulysses only, and without having to yield myself to a
worse man than he was. Besides, no matter how much
people may grieve by day, they can put up with
(04:45):
it so long as they can sleep at night. For
when the eyes are closed in slumber, people forget good
and ill alike. Whereas my misery haunts me even in
my dreams. This very night, methought, there was one lying
by my side who was lef Ulysses, as he was
when he went away with his host. And I rejoiced,
for I believed that it was no dream, but the
(05:07):
very truth itself. On this day broke But Ulysses heard
the sound of her weeping, and it puzzled him, for
it seemed as though she already knew him and was
by his side. Then he gathered up the cloak and
the fleeces on which he had lain, and set them
on a seat in the cloister. But he took the
bullocks hide out into the open. He lifted up his
(05:30):
hands to heaven and prayed, saying, Father Jove, since you
have seen fit to bring me over land and sea
to my own home, after all the afflictions you have
laid upon me, give me a sign out of the
mouth of some one or other of those who are
now waking within the house, and let me have another
sign of some kind from outside. Thus did he pray.
(05:53):
Jove heard his prayer, and forthwith thundered high up among
the clouds from the splendor of Olympus, and was glad
when he heard it. At the same time, within the house,
a miller woman from hard By in the mill room
lifted up her voice and gave him another sign. There
were twelve miller women whose business it was to grind
(06:13):
wheat and barley, which are the staff of life. The
others had ground their task and had gone to take
their rest, But this one had not yet finished, for
she was not so strong as they were, And when
she heard the thunder, she stopped grinding and gave the
sign to her master. Father. Jove said, she, you who
rule over heaven and earth, You have thundered from a
(06:35):
clear sky without so much as a cloud in it,
and this means something for somebody. Grant the prayer then
of me, your poor servant, who calls upon you, and
let this be the very last day that the suitors
dine in the house of Ulysses. They have worn me
out with the labor of grinding meal for them, and
I hope they may never have another dinner anywhere at all.
(06:58):
Ulysses was glad when he heard the omens conveyed to
him by the woman's speech and by the thunder, for
he knew they meant that he should avenge himself on
the suitors. Then the other maids in the house rose
and lit the fire on the hearth. Telemachus also rose
and put on his clothes. He girded his sword about
his shoulder, bound his sandals on his comely feet, and
(07:21):
took a doughty spear with a point of sharpened bronze.
Then he went to the threshold of the cloister and
said to Euryclea, nurse, did you make the stranger comfortable
both as regards bed and board, or did you let
him shift for himself? For my mother, good woman, though
she is, has a way of paying great attention to
second rate people, and of neglecting others who are in
(07:45):
reality much better. Men do not find fault, child, said Euryclea,
When there is no one to find fault with. The
stranger sat and drank his wine as long as he liked.
Your mother did ask him if he would take any
more bread. He said he would not when he wanted
to go to bed. She told the servants to make
one for him, But he said he was such a
(08:07):
wretched outcast that he would not sleep on a bed
and under blankets. He insisted on having an undressed bullock's
hide and some sheepskins put for him in the cloister,
And I threw a cloak over him myself. Then Telemachus
went out of the court to the place where the
Achaeans were meeting in assembly. He had his spear in
(08:27):
his hand, and he was not alone, for his two
dogs went with him. But Euryclea called the maids and said,
come wake up. Set about sweeping the cloisters and sprinkling
them with water, to lay the dust, put the covers
on the seats, wipe down the tables. Some of you
with a wet sponge, clean out the mixing jugs and
the cups, and go for water from the fountain. At once.
(08:48):
The suitors will be here directly. They will be here early,
for it is a feast day. Thus did she speak,
and they did even as she had said. Twenty of
them went to the fountain for water, and the others
set themselves busily to work about the house. The men
who were in attendance on the suitors also came up
and began chopping firewood. By and by the women returned
(09:11):
from the fountain, and the swineherd came after them with
the three best pigs he could pick out. These he
let feed about the premises. And then he said, good
humoredly to Ulysses, stranger, are the suitors treating you any
better now? Or are they as insolent as ever? May heaven?
Answered Ulysses, requite to them the wickedness with which they
(09:35):
deal high handedly in another man's house without any sense
of shame. Thus did they converse. Meanwhile, Melanthius the goatherd
came up, for he too was bringing in his best
goats for the suitors dinner, and he had two shepherds
with him. They tied the goats up under the gatehouse,
and then Melanthias began jibing at Ulysses. Are you still here, stranger?
(10:00):
Said he to pester people by begging about the house.
Why can you not go elsewhere? You and I shall
not come to an understanding before we have given each
other a taste of our fists. You beg without any
sense of decency. Are there not feasts elsewhere among the
Achaeans as well as here? Ulysses made no answer, but
(10:20):
bowed his head and brooded. Then a third man, Filoecious,
joined them, who was bringing in a baron heifer and
some goats. These were brought over by the boatmen, who
are there to take people over when anyone comes to them.
So Filoecious made his heifer and his goats secure under
the gatehouse, and then went up to the swineherd, who
(10:41):
swineherd said, he is this stranger that is lately come here?
Is he one of your men? What is his family?
Where does he come from? Poor fellow? He looks as
if he had been some great man. But the gods
give sorrow to whom they will, even to kings, if
it so pleases them. As he spoke, he went up
to Ulysses and saluted him with his right hand. Good
(11:02):
day to you, father, stranger, said he. You seem to
be very poorly off now, but I hope you will
have better times by and by Father Jove of all gods,
you are the most malicious. We are your own children,
Yet you show us no mercy in all our misery
and afflictions. A sweat came over me when I saw
this man, and my eyes filled with tears, for he
(11:24):
reminds me of Ulysses, who I fear is going about
in just such rags as this man's are, if indeed
he is still among the living, if he is already
dead and in the house of Hades, then alas for
my good master, who made me his stockmen when I
was quite young among the Cephalenians, and now his cattle
(11:45):
are countless, no one could have done better with them
than I have, for they have bread like ears of corn. Nevertheless,
I have to keep bringing them in for others to eat,
who take no heed to his son, though he is
in the house, and fear you are not the wrath
of Heaven, but are already eager to divide ulysses property
among them. Because he has been away so long. I
(12:08):
have often thought only it would not be right while
his son is living, of going off with the cattle
to some foreign country. Bad as this would be, it
is still harder to stay here and be ill treated
about other people's herds. My position is intolerable, and I
should long since have run away and put myself under
the protection of some other chief, only that I believe
(12:30):
my poor master will yet return and send all these
suitors flying out of the house. Stockman answered, Ulysses, you
seem to be a very well disposed person, and I
can see that you are a man of sense. Therefore
I will tell you and will confirm my words with
an oath by Jove, the chief of all gods, and
(12:51):
by that hearth of Ulysses, to which I am now come.
Ulysses shall return before you leave this place, and if
you are so minded you shall I'll see him killing
the suitors who are now masters here. If Jove were
to bring this to pass, replied the stockman, you should
see how I would do my very utmost to help him.
(13:13):
And in like manner, Eumaeus prayed that Ulysses might return home.
Thus did they converse. Meanwhile, the suitors were hatching a
plot to murder Telemachus. But a bird flew near them
on their left hand, an eagle with a dove in
its talons. On this, Amphinomus said, my friends, this plot
(13:34):
of ours to murder Telemachus will not succeed. Let us
go to dinner instead. The others assented, so they went
inside and laid their cloaks on the benches and seats.
They sacrificed the sheep, goats, pigs, and the heifer, And
when the inward meats were cooked, they served them round.
They mixed the wine in the mixing bowls, and the
(13:55):
swineherd gave every man his cup, while Filoetius handed round
the bread in the bread basket, and Melanthius poured them
out their wine. Then they laid their hands upon the
good things that were before them. Telemachus purposely made Ulysses
sit in the part of the cloister that was paved
with stone. He gave him a shabby looking seat at
(14:15):
a little table to himself, and had his portion of
the inward meats brought to him, with his wine in
a gold cup. Sit there, said he, and drink your
wine among the great people. I will put a stop
to the gibes and blows of the suitors, for this
is no public house, but belongs to Ulysses, and has
passed from him to me. Therefore, suitors, keep your hands
(14:37):
and your tongues to yourselves, or there will be mischief.
The suitors bit their lips and marveled at the boldness
of his speech. Then Antynus said, we do not like
such language, but we will put up with it, for
Telemachus is threatening us in good earnest. If Jove had
let us, we should have put a stop to his
brave talk air. Now, thus spoke Antinas, but Telemachus heeded
(15:01):
him not. Meanwhile, the heralds were bringing the Holy hecatomb
through the city, and the Achaeans gathered under the shady
grove of Apollo. Then they roasted the outer meat, drew
it off the spits, gave every man his portion, and
feasted to their hearts content. Those who waited at table
(15:21):
gave Ulysses exactly the same portion as the others had,
for Telemachus had told them to do so. But Minerva
would not let the suitors for one moment drop their insolence,
for she wanted Ulysses to become still more bitter against them.
Now there happened to be among them a ribald fellow,
whose name was Ktisippus, and who came from Samme. This man,
(15:44):
confident in his great wealth, was paying court to the
wife of Ulysses, and said to the suitors, hear what
I have to say. The stranger has already had as
large a portion as any one else. This is well,
for it is not right nor reasonable to ill treat
any guest of Telemachus who comes here. I will, however,
make him a present on my own account, that he
(16:05):
may have something to give to the bath woman or
to some other of ulysses servants. As he spoke, he
picked up a heifer's foot from the meat basket in
which it lay, and threw it at Ulysses. But Ulysses
turned his head a little aside and avoided it, smiling
grimly Sardinian fashion as he did so, and it hit
the wall, not him. On this Telemachus spoke fiercely to Tisippus.
(16:31):
It is a good thing for you, said he, that
the stranger turned his head so that you missed him.
If you had hit him, I should have run you
through with my spear, and your father would have had
to see about getting you buried rather than married in
this house. So let me have no more unseemly behavior
from any of you, for I am grown up now
to the knowledge of good and evil and understand what
(16:53):
is going on, instead of being the child that I
have been heretofore, I have long seen you killing my
sheep and making free with my corn and wine. I
have put up with this, for one man is no
match for many. But do me no further violence. Still,
if you wish to kill me, kill me. I would
far rather die than see such disgraceful scenes. Day after day,
(17:15):
guests insulted, and men dragging the women servants about the
house in an unseemly way. They all held their peace
till at last Agilaus, son of Damastor, said, no one
should take offense at what has just been said, nor
gainsay it, for it is quite reasonable. Leave off therefore,
(17:36):
ill treating the stranger or any one else of the
servants who are about the house. I would say, however,
a friendly word to Telemachus and his mother, which I
trust may commend itself to both as long, I would say,
as you had ground for hoping that Ulysses would one
day come home, no one could complain of your waiting
and suffering the suitors to be in your house. It
(17:59):
would have been her that he should have returned, but
it is now sufficiently clear that he will never do. So. Therefore,
talk all this quietly over with your mother, and tell
her to marry the best man and the one who
makes her the most advantageous offer. Thus, you will yourself
be able to manage your own inheritance and to eat
and drink in peace, while your mother will look after
(18:21):
some other man's house, not yours. To this, Telemachus answered,
by jove Agilaus, and by the sorrows of my unhappy father,
who has either perished far from Ithaca or is wandering
in some distant land, I throw no obstacles in the
way of my mother's marriage. On the contrary, I urge
(18:41):
her to choose whomsoever she will, and I will give
her numberless gifts into the bargain. But I dare not
insist point blank that she shall leave the house against
her own wishes. Heaven forbid that I should do this.
Minerva now made the suitors fall to laughing immoderately, and
set their wits oneering. But they were laughing with a
(19:01):
forced laughter. Their meat became smeared with blood, their eyes
filled with tears, and their hearts were heavy with forebodings.
Theo Clemenus saw this and said, unhappy men, what is
it that ails you? There is a shroud of darkness
drawn over you from head to foot. Your cheeks are
wet with tears. The air is alive with wailing voices.
(19:24):
The walls and roof beams drip blood. The gait of
the cloisters, and the court beyond them are full of
ghosts trooping down into the night of hell. The sun
is blotted out of heaven, and a blighting gloom is
over all the land. Thus did he speak, and they
all of them laughed heartily. Eurymachus then said, this stranger
(19:46):
who has lately come here has lost his senses. Servants
turn him out into the streets, since he finds it
so dark here. But theo Clemenus said, Eurymachus, you need
not send any one with me. I have eyes, ears,
and a pair of feet of my own, to say
nothing of an understanding mind. I will take these out
(20:06):
of the house with me, for I see mischief overhanging you,
from which not one of you men who are insulting
people and plotting ill deeds in the house of Ulysses,
will be able to escape. He left the house as
he spoke, and went back to Pereeus, who gave him welcome.
But the suitors kept looking at one another and provoking
Telemachus by laughing at the strangers. One insolent fellow said
(20:29):
to him, Telemachus, you are not happy in your guests.
First you have this importunate tramp who comes begging bread
and wine, and has no skill for work or for
hard fighting, but is perfectly useless. And now here is
another fellow who is setting himself up as a prophet.
Let me persuade you, for it will be much better
to put them on board ship and send them off
(20:50):
to the sea cells to sell for what they will bring.
Telemachus gave him no heed, but sat silently watching his father,
expecting every moment that he would begin his attack upon
the suitors. Meanwhile, the daughter of Ecarius, Wise Penelope, had
had a rich seat placed for her, facing the court
(21:11):
and cloisters, so that she could hear what every one
was saying. The dinner, indeed, had been prepared amid much merriment.
It had been both good and abundant, for they had
sacrificed many victims. But the supper was yet to come.
And nothing can be conceived more gruesome than the meal
which a goddess and a brave man were soon to
lay before them, For they had brought their doom upon themselves.
(21:38):
End of book twenty
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